Dear Barista
by chisquare
Summary: One lousy customer service provider leads to meeting a young barista at a local cafe.  fem!N. ItalyXGermany.  One-shot.


_Dear Barista,_

_While I was here last week, you made a coffee most delectable. It was sweet, warm and perfect. However, I did not like the service you gave me. You cursed profusely at me in English and what I can only presume was Italian, and by the end of it, all I wanted to do was call for the manager to report you. In hopes that you will not treat me, or any other customers, like this in the future, I am asking you politely to not be rude to the people you serve._

_Please do not call me a potato-eating bastard again, or I will have you fired._

_Sincerely,_

_A very dissatisfied customer._

* * *

><p>Ludwig looked over the letter one more time for any mistakes. Finding none, he folded up the letter neatly and slid it into the envelope he had on hand. He then picked up a nearby jacket to warm him in the winter air and headed out the door to the café down the street.<p>

The café was a locally-owned and operated business that tended to get ignored by the tourists but held a lot of regulars. There was a homey appearance to it; neither being too big nor too small, it had plenty of comfortable chairs and couches that customers tended to flock to. Paintings and photographs adorned the walls, each one unique yet quite fitting for the place. The lighting was a perfect mixture of sunlight and strategically-placed lights that fit in well with the décor. Overall, it was a cute café.

Although this place had been open for years, Ludwig had only come across it recently. It had been an accident, really. He had been walking down the street to head to the library when he had caught sight of his brother's friend, Francis. Francis was known for being a bit…grabby, and so to avoid any terrible confrontations, the German fled through the nearest door. The shop he had walked into happened to be this very café.

Not wanting to look like a loiterer, Ludwig had decided that he should buy some coffee. As he did so, however, the barista, a young man barely over the age of 20 if his looks were anything to go by, harassed him. Hence the letter Ludwig was carrying with him now.

As Ludwig walked into the café for the second time, he expected to see the same angry face of the barista who served him last. However, when he looked at the counter, the only person he could see was a young woman who was turned away from him, probably in the act of making someone else's order.

A little disappointed that he couldn't hand the subject of the letter to said person, Ludwig decided that he was going to ask the woman if she would be so kind as to give her coworker the envelope. He walked up to the counter and waited patiently for her to turn around. He preoccupied himself by admiring the nearest painting. It was a gorgeous rendition of a mountain range that loomed over the horizon.

"I painted that a couple years ago," a voice casually stated, waking Ludwig from any inner thoughts. He turned to face the voice and found himself looking into warm brown eyes owned by the young woman who worked at the counter.

"Really?" he found himself asking, a hint of surprise lacing his question. He took in the sight of the woman. She had brunette hair held back into a ponytail and a kind smile tracing her lips. She looked more like a teenager than a young adult by the way her eyes seemed to sparkle with innocence.

She nodded to him. "Yeah. I've painted most of the paintings in here, actually." She gave a sweeping gesture to indicate the entirety of the café. "I'm Felicia, by the way. I don't think we've ever met." She stuck out her hand to Ludwig, who returned the greeting warily.

"Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt," he offered. He was quite new to this town so he was always meeting new people, but it didn't mean he liked it. He always felt nervous giving his name to others. Not to mention that his brother had been living in town for a few years and had already gained quite the reputation. That reputation was, sad to say, not a very good one.

Felicia seemed to recognize the last name because her eyes widened and her lips formed the classic 'o' shape. "You must be Gilbert's brother, then!" she correctly guessed.

Ludwig wanted to cover his face with his hands but thought better of it. He didn't want to admit that he wasn't proud of his brother and his antics. "Er, yes. He is my older brother, actually."

Felicia's smile returned. "I know him. He's good friends with my brother's girlfriend, actually."

"Oh, I don't know many of my brother's friends, I'm afraid. Only Francis." Ludwig had had the misfortune of having Francis and Gilbert help him move into his home a couple months back. It was an experience he would rather not repeat.

She nodded again. "Ah, yes. Francis can be quite the handful. Antonia is very laid back and a lot less of a personal-bubble invader. You should really meet her sometime. She usually comes in when my brother works."

"Your brother…works here?" Ludwig asked as he let his mind process what Felicia had said. He chose his next words carefully. "Would he happen to be an angry fellow?"

The smile on Felicia's face seemed to grow tenfold. "You know my brother?" She didn't seem upset at all about her brother being referred to as an angry man.

"Well, I came in here about a week ago and was yelled at by a young man who looked quite similar to you, so it's a possibility," he remarked.

"That would be my brother, then! He likes to yell at people all the time. He usually works in the bakery, though, so he doesn't interact with the customers very often. I'm sorry if he upset you at all. He's just not much of a people-person." Felicia apologized with a sincere look on her face.

Ludwig blushed at her words. Of course he had been upset about it, but how could he possibly give the angry barista his letter now, knowing that this girl was apologizing for his actions? He discreetly slid the envelope he still held into his back pocket so as to not let Felicia see. "Oh, well, I wasn't upset about it," he lied, "but thank you." He looked over his shoulder quickly to see if he was at all in anyone's way. Noticing that there was an older gentleman standing behind him, he decided he should probably let Felicia work. "I should probably go soon, though, so could I get a medium regular black coffee to go? I apologize for taking up so much of your time."

"No problem!" Felicia quickly got to work. She grabbed a to-go cup and filled it to the brim with hot coffee and fastened a lid on top to complete the order. "There you go!" she said as she handed the coffee to him. "Come again soon!"

Ludwig waved minutely to her on his way out the door. "I will certainly try," he gave as his parting words.

* * *

><p>It was a while before Ludwig returned. He <em>had<em> meant to show up sooner, but school and work overtook his life for several weeks. When he stepped foot into the café again, the winter months were over and spring was finally starting to arrive. The grass was turning green and the trees began to bloom. It wouldn't be much longer before jackets were no longer needed to step outside.

There hadn't been any particular reason for his visit to the café, really. He told his brother that he was in need of a strong cup of coffee. However, that was just an excuse. An excuse for what? Ludwig wasn't so sure.

He was greeted with the sight of a slightly bored-looking Felicia manning the counter as he stepped inside the locally-owned business. There didn't appear to be many customers in at the moment. It was no wonder-how many people wanted a cup of coffee at two? The lunch-hour traffic had come and gone, and the regulars wouldn't return for another hour or so.

Ludwig found himself smiling as he looked at the young woman. There was something about her that he really enjoyed. He just couldn't identify what it was quite yet. Felicia greeted him with a cheerful wave and a grin that seemed to light up the already-bright café. He blushed at the attention.

"Hello, Felicia," he addressed the barista.

Felicia emitted what was reminiscent of a squeal. "You remembered my name!" she cried out. "I remember yours, too, though! It's Ludwig. Ludwig Beilschmidt, brother of Gilbert!" She grinned impossibly wide as she made the announcement.

The color on Ludwig's face darkened. "Erm, yes. That would be me," he said rather awkwardly. His socially inept persona was taking over, leaving him unsure of what to say.

The silence that followed was no better. Felicia continued to smile in an oblivious manner, unaware of Ludwig's dilemma, while the man himself was grasping at straws, looking for something, anything, to say. He finally settled on the most cliché topic for small talk. "So, the weather has been nice," he offered. Inside, all he really wanted to do was hit himself for being such an idiot. Felicia surely wouldn't want to talk about _that_.

The man was surprised, however, because Felicia nodded in agreement and responded. "Yes, it is. I'm rather excited. It means I get to spend more time outside! Don't you just love the outdoors?"

Ludwig coughed subtly into his fist before replying. "I do. Camping is one of my favorite activities, actually. It is very nice to lie under the stars at night. Er, what is it that you enjoy most about being outside?" There. He offered her something to answer. It didn't seem all that terrible for someone socially awkward, right?

A thoughtful look crossed Felicia's expressive face. "Hmmm…there's just so much you can do outdoors! I love swimming, and I love fishing, and I love camping (like you, Ludwig!), and I love running, and I love gardening, but really, I just love everything!" she clapped her hands as if it were to accentuate her point. Ludwig found himself enjoying her enthusiasm.

"I like all of those as well. It won't be long before we can do all of those without freezing, that's for sure," he gave as his remark. "Well, while I'm here, could I get a black cup of coffee, please? I think I'll stay this time."

"Of course, Ludwig! It's my job, after all!" The barista turned away to fulfill his order. It wasn't long before she returned to him with two cups in her hand; one held the regular coffee, while the other appeared to be a caramel-colored mixture of flavors. Ludwig was confused. Why was she holding the second cup?

"Why are you holding two cups, Felicia?" he voiced. Suddenly, he felt that the way he spoke was rude and tried to remedy his words. "I mean, it doesn't matter, but…I mean…I am a little confused, I must confess."

Felicia looked up at him in surprise, as if she only just realized he was standing nearby. "Oh, this?" she asked, as she gestured with a nod to the second cup. "I've got to have something to drink, too!"

Ludwig processed the information for a moment before he spoke. "You'll…be sitting with me?" The thought of sitting next to such a pretty girl with such gorgeous hair and beautiful eyes made his face heat up again.

She gave a sweet, innocent turn of her lips. "Of course I am, Ludwig. I still have to get to know you! What better way than over a cup of coffee?"

Ludwig's face now rivaled that of an apple, or that of a tomato. "W-what, like-like a date?" he stuttered.

"If you want it to be," she offered. There appeared to be no hint as to it being either way, just a simple fact. It was up to him whether this was a friendly conversation or something more.

Ludwig hadn't had much luck in the past with relationships. He had always ended up being wrapped up in his own personal life to let others in. He didn't know how they worked, or what made them so great, but looking at the woman before him…the most beautiful girl he had seen in years, he felt that maybe, just maybe, he would like to give it a try. Get to know her more, so to speak.

"I would like that, Felicia. I would like that a lot."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** I apologize for the ending. It could have ended much better. I was actually kind of crunched for time to finish this, however, and so the ending ended up being what it is. I don't have the motivation to come back and fix it anytime soon.

Side note-yes, I have alluded to Spain being a girl. I had originally written this story for my Creative Writing class and didn't want to upset my professor by adding any hint of homoerotic relationships. I really REALLY wanted to, though. Another thing-I apologize if I haven't put much characterization into the story. Again, I was crunched for time. I enjoyed how it went, though, so…this story probably won't be edited again. Probably. Maybe. We'll see.

Another side note-I used to work at a fast food/sit-down restaurant. We would be swamped for lunch and then we would get stragglers for the afternoons until it was time for the regulars to show up for their second cup of coffee (many of them showed up at six in the morning and three or four in the afternoon). We were actually right off of the main highway, though, so we got a lot of summer vacationers traveling through. Anyway, in the early afternoon I was usually pretty bored. I usually found myself reading magazines in the back when I had the time.

IF YOU FIND ANY MISTAKES, PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO REVIEW. Or review just because. I don't mind C:


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